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TON B T MIL ULL EA ET R IN G July 2019 Published by the Parish Council No. 544

The Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 1 Parish Council Publication Scheme (Freedom of Information Act) Residents of the Parish can see the records of the Council held by the Parish Clerk or learn where they may be accessed. These records include minutes, financial information, and responses to planning consultations. Applications can be made to the Parish Clerk and documents viewed by appointment. Any copies required will be charged at 10p per page.

Great Milton Parish Council

Chairman: Stephen Harrod 01844 278068 Ward: Church Road to Monkery Farm/The Priory Vice Chairman: Bill Fox 01844 279716 Ward: Road, inc Fullers Field and Green Hitchings Councillor: Peter Fewell 01844 279400 Ward: The Green from Priory Bank to Tara/Applewood Councillor: Clyde Deacon 01844 278554 Ward: High Street from North End Cottage to The Old Garage Councillor: George Bennett 07482 339905 Ward: Thame Road from Green Hitchings to A329 Councillor: Gwen Harris 07401 399489 Ward: Kings Head House/Red Roofs to Wheatley Boundary Councillor: Peter Allen 01844 278334 Ward: Milton Common

Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer: Tim Darch – 01844 278347 [email protected]

Parish Council Representatives Rec Ground Committee: Michael Robinson, Michele Block Old Field Charity: Hazel Hand, Niki Patrick Hard Surface Play Area: Susan Read, Jon Devitt Neighbourhood Watch: Jola Miziniak Kent & Couling Charity: — Sheppard Trust: Ann Price, Pat Cox

Reflection of the Fête. Photo: Nick Belcher.

2 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin Key Contacts: Local Governance County Council 01865 792422 Oxfordshire.gov.uk District Council 01235 422422 Southoxon.gov.uk County Councillor: Stephen Harrod 01844 278068 [email protected] District Councillor: Caroline Newton 07951 477144 [email protected] Great Milton Parish Council Stephen Harrod (Chair) 01844 278068 Tim Darch (Clerk) 01844 278347 [email protected] Report potholes, fly-tipping, vandalism, broken paving Fixmystreet.com OCC Family Information Service 08452 262636 [email protected] OCC Highways 0845 310 1111 [email protected] Missed Bin Collection 03000 610610 [email protected] Bulky Household Waste Collection 01235 422406 [email protected] SODC Housing 01235 422422 [email protected] SODC Planning Applications 01235 422600 [email protected] Services Emergency - Police, Fire, Ambulance 999 Police non-emergency 101 thamesvalley.police.uk GP Surgery, Morland House 01865 872448 morland-house.co.uk NHS non-emergency 111 nhs.uk Gas Emergency 0800 111 999 nationalgrid.com/uk/safety/ Electricity Outage 0800 072 7282 sse.co.uk Burst pipe or leak 0800 714 614 thameswater.co.uk Floodline 0345 988 1188 gov.uk/check-flood-risk Local information St. Mary's Church: Rev. Simon Cronk [email protected] Methodist Church: Rev. Adam Stevenson 01491 613223 Neighbourhood Watch: Jola Miziniak 07917 676463 [email protected] Citizens Advice Oxfordshire 03444 111 444 caox.org.uk The Maple Tree Children's Centre 01865 873916 [email protected] Great Milton Neighbours Hall 01844 278415 Great Milton Pavilion & Recreation Ground 01844 278116 Great Milton Website [email protected] http://www.greatmilton.co.uk Great Milton Bulletin 07554 516989 [email protected] [email protected] Great Milton Primary School 01844 279388 gmilton.org Wheatley Park School 01865 872441 www.wheatleypark.org Transport Comet - for people without access to 01865 323201 oxfordshire.gov.uk/comet suitable public transport Arriva (280) Bus 0344 800 4411 arrivabus.co.uk Tube (Buses to London) 01865 772250 oxfordtube.com Park & Ride oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/public-site/parkandride National Rail Enquiries 03457 484950 nationalrail.co.uk

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 3 Draft Parish Notes – June 2019

Present at the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 17th June were Cllrs S Harrod (Chairman) P Allen, C Deacon, G Harris, G Bennet and P Fewell, plus Tim Darch (Clerk). Apologies were received from Cllr W Fox. The minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and the monthly meeting held on Monday 20th May were signed and approved as an accurate record of proceedings. The County Councillor’s monthly report was received by the meeting and is available via the Parish Council website. Planning applications No planning applications were received from SODC in time for consideration at the meeting. The following planning decision has been received: P19/S1035/FUL (The Bull, The Green, Great Milton). External stores and associated picket fence. Planning permission is GRANTED for the works described above. Financial Resolutions The following payments were authorised and cheques signed for payment: Tim Darch. Salary, Tax and Expenses. £443.30 Jonathan Dudley. Bulletin production June. £268.10 Green and Growing. Grass cutting May: £642 Castle Water. Allotment water supply. £31.60 History Society insurance (as approved at Minute 88/19): £125.20 Came and Company: Parish Council insurance: £330 Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary. Donation in lieu of Internal Auditor’s fees. £100. The monthly reconciliation and bank statement and the Parish Council accounts for the last month were received, approved and signed. The reconciled bank balance as at 6 June was £26,879.29. The Exercise of Public Rights period, during which the Parish Council’s accounts can be examined freely, begins on Tuesday 18 June and concludes on Tuesday 30 July. Notices to this effect have been placed on the Parish Council noticeboards and on the Parish Council website. Parish Clerk’s update of matters in hand A response is awaited from OCC regarding the issues raised by various residents at the May meeting (parking mitigation at the Lower End bend, restoration of ‘Slow’ markings on Windmill Hill and why the speed limit on A329 is 50mph yet it is 60mph

4 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin on Windmill Hill). The path from the Bull to the ‘Manoir Field’ and on to the A329 has been strimmed, encroaching foliage cleared from the footpath to the allotments and the Chilworth Road verges was about to be strimmed at the bends. The Parish Council continues to investigate funding sources for the work required to repair and/or improve the stiles on the Pitts Green to footpath while liaising with adjacent landowners. There are reports of persistent dog fouling in a specific location on the footpath to the allotment, adjacent to an allotment tenant’s plot. This is an offence and must cease immediately: there are dog waste bins just yards from the allotment and at the other end of the path at Chilworth Road, so there is absolutely no justification for it. Suggestions have been received as to the identity of the perpetrator: if definitively identified they will be reported to the District Council. Training on the AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) and on cardio-pulmonary resuscitation is currently scheduled to take place on Saturday 6 July at 9.30am in the Pavilion. The next meeting of Great Milton Parish Council will be held on Monday 15th July starting at 7.30pm in The Pavilion. Tim Darch, Parish Clerk/RFO

Senior Citizens Party Committee

Quiz Seven teams did battle in another successful Quiz night – only seven points separating the top four teams. The victors were ‘5 Go to Pot’ with 64 points followed by ‘Two Missing’ on 60 points with ‘Flag Hippo’ in 3rd position with 58 points and ‘Old Folks.com’ a single point (57) behind in 4th position. Our thanks to everyone for your continued support of our Quiz nights – special thanks to Paul Dennis for, once again, taking on the position of Quiz Master. Party funds benefitted to the tune of £219.06. Rummage Sale This popular event raised £219.00 for party funds. Our thanks to everyone who donated rummage, draw prizes and delicious home- made cakes. Special thanks, once again, to our loyal band of helpers who carry out the sorting of items and then ‘man the stalls’ to sell them! Ann Price, Secretary

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 5 Services in Our Benefice for July

St. Mary the Virgin St. James’s St. Peter’s Great Milton Little Milton Sunday 7th Holy Communion BCP Holy Communion CW Family Service Trinity 3 8:00am 9:30am 11:00am Sunday 14th Holy Communion CW Family Service Holy Communion BCP Trinity 4 9:30am 11:00am 8:00am Sunday 21st Family Service Holy Communion BCP Holy Communion CW Trinity 5 11:00am 8:00am 9:30am Benefice Sunday 28th Communion CW Trinity 6 10:00am

Services in Our Benefice for August

St. Mary the Virgin St. James’s St. Peter’s Great Milton Little Milton Great Haseley Sunday 4th Holy Communion BCP Holy Communion CW Family Service Trinity 7 8:00am 9:30am 11:00am

Ramblings from the Rectory

I very nearly choked on what I wrote about last month, the last bit about praying for good weather! The day before the Great Milton Fete we experienced the mother of all thunder storms. It was ferocious, simultaneous thunder and lightening and it bucketed down. I peered out from the front door and the thought did come to me, ‘If anyone has read what I wrote I have got it coming if it like this tomorrow’. In the event the morning looked threatening but the afternoon was fine although a bit windy. It was a lovely afternoon and a really good fete, the rain returned after the fete ended! I also wondered if I should eat my words when I heard the story of the recent community day put together by St Michael’s in Hughenden where I had been vicar, to showcase all that the Church is doing. Basically the weather was awful leading up to the event. The daughter of a friend of ours who was travelling from Kent said the

6 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin motorway had been awash, then as she came out of Wycombe the rain cleared. The team organising the event were in the Church praying about the day, and I have no doubt one or two prayers about the weather crept out. As they came out of the Church an enormous rainbow framed the scene. We were sent a beautiful photo of the Church framed by the rainbow arch. Apparently it rained locally but not on Hughenden for the whole day, the event was a huge success with hundreds of visitors coming. I still say people of faith must be so careful before attributing every bit of meteorological good fortune to divine providence! In reality the recent spate of wet weather at the beginning of June has actually been a blessing to farmers, so perhaps a bit of conflict of interest? Also, in our tendency to be parochial in our thinking for our convenience we need to seriously acknowledge those in our world who are increasingly victims of ongoing extreme and unpredictable weather. Nonetheless with all these questions I also find myself challenged to be open to moments that will take our breath away when, to put it simply, we do feel the pleasure of God. That might involve the weather. Cath and I had one recently. Our eldest daughter Ellie has begun a new adventure moving to North Devon. She has joined forces with a university friend who has moved there to start a business writing content and copy. North Devon was where Cath and I lived when we met each other and where we began our married life so it is close to our hearts. I have family there and grew up knowing and loving the place. In May there was a grand gathering for an uncle’s 80th birthday at the Old Rectory near Rose Ash. This is the house my grandparents moved to in the 1950’s when my grandfather left the Royal Navy, it is as beautiful as it sounds. Ellie motored over from Braunton to join us for the day. She was clearly loving being down there and connecting with a community of freelance workers in Braunton, most of whom also surf! We saw her the following Monday and on the way home in the evening, coming towards Tiverton on the Link Road, there were mixed rain squalls and sunbursts resulting in the breathtaking scene of Tiverton and the rolling Devon countryside framed beneath an extraordinary vivid rainbow arch. Ellie beginning a new life in a place we have loved has been an utterly unexpected development and we obviously hope that it works out for her, as any parent would. It did though feel like a real moment of grace, we were both overwhelmed by the sight and the sense of hope it brought us. In the story of Noah the rainbow is a sign of new hope, new beginnings and the promise of God. I said, ‘this is a natural event of course, but I am so grateful that things have conspired for us to be here at this precise moment to see it.’ Cath simply replied, ‘That works for me.’ I am perhaps guilty of rationalising things a little too much and by doing so I can

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 7 miss those moments of grace. I do stand by what I wrote last month. At their most trivial, I don’t believe that our prayers are answered simply for our convenience. I remain grateful for our climate and would rather count blessings than grumble about the rain. Sometimes it will rain and we will have to adapt our plans and thank God for the inventor of the Umbrella! But I also have the conviction that there are moments when it is as if things have conspired to put us somehow in the right place at the right time for the right reason. At Hughenden, I am told that one or two people came out of the Church after prayer, and after all the hard work and preparation with the threat of it all being washed away, when they saw the rainbow they burst into tears! They would have carried on regardless whatever the weather, but that was a moment when they felt very blessed. The Little Milton Fete as it happened was again remarkably free of rain, a couple of small shower s followed by sun, Aa rainbow would have been good, alas not this time. Oh and by the way, latest news of little Molly who I talked about last month. Cath has been sent a gorgeous photo of her, smiling straight at camera wearing a pair of oversized blue sunglasses her mother put on her, pure joy. Now that is real blessing. Simon

Can I please add my thanks to all who worked so hard to prepare for the Fete. To Clare and Alex Celina, Rachel and Graham and their excellent team and all stallholders, those who transported all the gear and all who set up the Fete. This is a great village event of course but we really appreciate the money raised for the Church. Simon

Great Milton Methodist Church Services For further info. please contact Rev Canon Dr Martin Wellings on 01865 243216

July Date Time Church Preacher Comments 7th 11:00am Gt. Milton John Anderson Holy Communion 14th 11:00am Gt. Milton Jan Grimwood 21st 11:00am Gt. Milton John Lenton 30th 11:00am Gt. Milton Local Arrangement

8 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin Church Fête Raffle Prizewinners

Prize No. Winner 1 Lunch for 2 at Le Manoir 264 Sue Barratt, Great Milton 2 Phantom of the Opera, West End, 2 tickets 1538 N. Wills, Great Milton 3 Spa Day for 2 at The Belfry 720 Amanda Garrett, Great Milton 4 Champagne Tea at The Crazy Bear 1493 Carolyn Warren 5 Golden Ticket, Roald Dahl Museum 98 O. Noakes, c/o Mike Block 6 Round of Golf at The Oxfordshire Golf Club 1048 Joyce Jones c/o Rita Booker 7 Waterstock Dressage & Riding School: 45 minute Lesson 989 Sue Denham, Great Milton 8 Cotsworld Motoring Museum: Family Ticket 1358 Rebecca Light, Great Haseley 9 Gardens: Season Ticket for 2 1172 Marlene, Thame 10 Lunch for 2 at The Lamb, Little Milton 434 Amy Matthews c/o Foster 11 Cotswold Wildlife Park & Garden: Tickets for 1 Adult and 1 Child 1634 Jasmine, Oakley 12 Sandy Lane Farm: Organic Veg. Box 1949 Deana Lee, Thame 13 Plant from Wheatley Farm Shop 1212 Mark Noble, Great Milton 14 ASDA Toiletries Basket 1167 Andrew Maynall, Great Milton 15 Selection of Organic Teas 101 Mike Block, Great Milton 16 Sparkling Wine 1133 Taylor,

Thank you for all your support!

Hoopla - Great Milton Church Fete

A huge thank you to everyone who donated bottles of all descriptions to the Block family for the Hoopla Stall this year. We had a brilliant response to our leaflet drop, so thank you to all those who personally dropped off bottles, and to the many bags and boxes that appeared anonymously on our doorstep – I think the milkman thought we were having parties every night in the run up to the Fete! As ever, we all had a great time on the stall, raised lots of money for Church funds, and had plenty of lucky winners who managed to 'hoop’ a bottle to enjoy later F The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 9 Photos: Nick Belcher

Photo: Manny Stone

Photo: Nick Belcher

10 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin Photos: Nick Belcher

Photos: Nick Belcher

Photo: Manny Stone

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 11 Photos: Nick Belcher

Photo: Manny Stone

12 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin in the day, despite the efforts of the wind! Thanks again for your generosity and see you next year, Mike, Michele, Harry, George, Lucy & Martha

Great Milton History at the Fete

After three attempts at erecting our tent and running around collecting bits as the gale force winds did their worst, it was decided to relocate to a corner of the Pavilion. Here, out of the gale, we recouped and, while not seeing so many old friends or making new ones, we had a reasonable afternoon, and satisfactory sales. At least the displays didn’t blow away! So, thank you to all who found us and to the hard working organisers who made the Fete such a success.

Great Milton History

The Great Great Milton Wells Project We have tracked, found and photographed over 70 wells in the Village – quite amazing! We now need your help to complete the record. Call and tell us if you can help to find the rest! Contact Ian Melton 01844 279489. OFHS Monumental Inscriptions Dr Alan Simpson and his team have just completed their recording of the tomb stones in the churchyard, and the memorial slabs in the Church. This will be available to all enquirers trying to trace a relative. To tell the Village about all this, we are planning an illustrated talk for late October - date to be announced - more detail next month! GMH

Little Milton W.I.

We had an action packed June, with cakes at Great Haseley Summer Market, accessories and crafts at Little Milton Fete and a fantastic party, joined by Waterstock & Tiddington WI and entertained by local folk band, Three Pressed Men. On Thursday 11th July local artist, Claire Florey-Hitchcox, will be telling us about her printmaking business using intricate hand-carved wood and lino blocks F The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 13 and traditional print methods. Visitors £5, or new members £21. Do you live in Little Milton, Great Milton or The Haseleys, want to meet new people, get out the house, make new friends? Then join Little Milton WI and meet like-minded, local women of all ages in an informal, friendly group. We meet every 2nd Thursday of the month at 7.30pm in the Pine Lodge. Too shy to come by yourself? Contact me & I’ll find you a WI buddy. Like us at www.facebook.com/lmpinelodge Details & news on the Pine Lodge page at www.littlemilton.org.uk Kath Stacey 279438 or email [email protected]

Great Milton Cricket Club

2nd June – vs Haddenham Haddenham 219 for 9 (35 overs) Paul Dennis 4 for 57 Great Milton 139 all out (30.1 overs) Steve Webb 30 Simon Turner 30

Fixtures for July 7th – London Erratice – Home 21st – Quarry – Home 28th – Holton – Away

View from Views

Now at last we have had some long awaited rain, I cannot understand why everything has been so green this spring when we have had so little rain. My records show we here had had something like 20mm in the last 2 months, avidly watching the TV forecast maps to see all the rain just missing us has been galling, even when it did rain we only had about 35-40mm when there were floods all over the country. In spite of this most crops seem to be surviving fairly well, except in the very dry areas.

14 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin It is too early to predict how this will affect the yields, as harvest is likely to be early this year it will not be too long before we find out. I can only think that the crops look so well because for most of the growing period it has been dry, which would have encouraged them to search for any moisture, by rooting deeper. What we don’t now know, is by having such deep roots whether they will be able to take advantage of the recent rain. To illustrate how far down plants will put their roots we have a patch, or rather a line, where the plants are more than twice the size of the rest of the field, this is where there is the remains of an old sewer soakaway, I remember when we dug it, in order to get a flow, it was something like 10 foot deep. Personally I think the problem from the yield point of view starts fairly soon as the plants will need more and more water as they increase in size, and also to fill the grain. The other spin off to this dry spring is the abundance of small birds that appear to have fledged, I guess this is also due to the dry period, allowing them to hatch without getting drowned in the nest. I think this goes for all species of bird as the fields are alive with their song, Larks in particular, plus others that I cannot identify. This also means that they will have escaped their nests being raided by Crows, Magpies, & Red Kites. We also seem to have hordes of Sparrows, who like our roadside hedge, which being nice and thick is just what the doctor ordered for them, plus all the food that our neighbours put out for them. In the mornings it is not uncommon to wake to the sound of them arguing, something they are good at. I mention the Kites with reference to taking small birds as I am sure they do, in the past I have stated that I had a feeling that they will take baby animals and could be responsible for the lack of Hares, recently we were on a friend’s farm in Lancashire where the Hare population seemed to be in good health, I asked the question (knowing the answer) have you got any Kites (or Buzzards as per Tony Robinson on his walk along the Thames the other night,) around, “no” was the answer, I rest my case! Passers-by will have noticed we have smartened up our approaches on Windmill Hill (being the name of our road), this is not for any reason other than an attempt to slow the traffic that passes the farm, not a vanity trip. The speed along this road is terrifying at times, and as the County Council (CC) at the request of the Parish Council (PC) have monitored the speeds along here, but do not perceived it as a problem, all I can say is they do not actually live here, and do not appear to be interested in helping our safety in any way. This goes against everything I have been advocating re the cutting of road verges, as being an unnecessary expense and also destroying wildlife sometimes in becomes a necessity. Our thanks to our PC for this, and for considering the matter of the parking in the village especially the dangerous, and extremely inconsiderate parking at lower end. Whilst mentioning highway issues & the CC I must just F The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 15 mention we need to renew the old public footpath way marking, as the current ones are not only like me, old and faded, and difficult to read. So we ring the CC Highways dept being the authority responsible for rights of way, to ask who to contact. After spending at least 20 minutes going through various options and waiting, being told things like (“you are held in a que, or your call is important to us”), for a reply, only to be told, by someone who was hard to understand, go to the fix my street website and put in you post code so that you point out where you have a problem. At this point I surrendered and put the phone down, I wonder sometimes what we pay for. I did pay a visit to the website some 3 weeks ago but no response so far! Thanks to all those who supported us on our Vintage Tractor rally as between Tom and myself collected just about £2,000 I say just about as some of the promises have not yet come in but that is the amount we shall pay over. By the time this is read we may have a better idea who is going to be our new leader, what worries me is that at the moment all the front runners seem to be advocating tax reductions. This when we cannot look after our elderly, or the NHS, we have to put up with poor roads, and schools are in dire need of expenditure, seems to be crackpot logic. Let’s hope whoever does win is able and allowed to pull us out of the political mire we appear to be in at the moment.

Great Haseley and District Horticultural Society

Another year is almost half over and I am thoroughly enjoying my garden which looks rather different after many months of neglect from me. I was unable to do the usual winter changes and so there are even more self sown plants than usual and it has not had its usual winter clear out of the thugs and some roses missed being pruned. One result has been a mass of lovely frothy bright pink poppies which give me a lot of pleasure. I weed out all the wish washy colours and now get mostly pinks and deep reds. I’m very fond of the frilly doubles, but these tend to be less helpful for insects; simple single flowers are more accessible. We also have masses of white foxgloves this year after growing some from seed and adding to bulk up existing populations. It is important to remove the pink versions as soon as they are identified otherwise they will take over and the whites will be lost. The very dark pink ones can be identified before flowering by the dark pink on stems, but I always miss some. Two years ago I planted a pink Gertrude Jekyll rose (the nation’s favourite rose) to climb over a new obelisk which in turn had been placed over an established purple Clematis Arabella. This rose is a new English rose which can be grown as a F 16 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin shrub or a short climber and made some progress last summer, but was then left to grow over the winter and missed its prune. The result has been nothing short of spectacular with continuous flowering since early May; sometimes an error can pay dividends, but I will need to train it this year or it will be completely out of control next summer. The obelisk is positioned in a small sheltered side courtyard along with lots of plants which are happier with extra warmth. Over the winter our neighbours have removed a large conifer hedge which ran along our adjoining boundary on the other side of the wall. This has been there since before we moved in and reduced the light in that area (bad), but provided shelter (good). We were very pleased to see it go and I wondered what would happen. So far all has been good with two climbing roses simply rejoicing in the extra light and the Wisteria sinensis flowering very well when the same plant at Waterperry was badly frosted as was a standard specimen we had trained in a pot. It would appear the wall is providing enough shelter without the trees. However, we had a mild winter other than the two consecutive nights of frost in late spring, so we will wait and see what happens next year, but I like the idea of change! If your planting is dense enough, you should have little visible soil which certainly reduces annual weed germination, but perennial weeds will appear, bindweed and milk thistle are particular problems in our garden. The bindweed is the small flowered variety which is very difficult to eradicate as it does not respond much to weed killer and its root system lies about a metre deep so digging it out is not an option. I control it by simply pulling out as much as I can when I see it with a view to reducing its strength; if it has no leaves or stems it cannot photosynthesise and grow as easily. Enjoy your garden when the weather allows. It has been cool and wet recently which has produced lovely lush growth and the forecast seems to be for hot and wet next week so the growth rate will no doubt increase even more. One of the beauties of our climate is that we never know what is coming our way! Liz Moyses

News from The Pine Lodge

It’s all change on the village hall committee following the AGM. We said farewell to Kath after 13 years of service and welcome to three new committee members, Giles, Mary and Linda. There are still vacancies, please contact us if you are interested in joining the committee or helping with events. No previous experience is needed. We’ve already booked the next seasons quizzes, fireworks, craft market and Christmas fayre. We’re also planning a VE day celebration on the special May bank holiday next F The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 17 year. Watch this space for further news. Regular activities include: WI Printmaking with Claire Florey-Hitchcox at 7.30pm on Thurs 11 July Craft Club on the third Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm (17 July) Yoga & Fitness with Yvonne on Mondays at 10.30am Pilates with Lee on Wednesdays at 6pm and Fridays at 9.30am Like us at www.facebook.com/lmpinelodge Details & news on the Pine Lodge page at www.littlemilton.org.uk Melanie Kinghan 278774 / Linda Lovegrove 279535 [email protected]

The Maple Tree

Thank you to everybody who donated prizes and bought/sold raffle tickets for our recent Grand Draw, raising an incredible £1500 for The Maple Tree. We also hosted our first ever fete. Although the weather wasn’t great leading to the cancellation of the Bouncy Castle, a good time was had regardless and we managed to make £279. We were also successful in our application to ASDA for a Healthy Eating Grant - thank you to Angie who recently presented us with a cheque for £750. Donations such as these ensure that The Maple Tree can continue to offer universal services to all local families. Exciting dates for your diary are:- Saturday 7th July – OPA Wheatley and Holton Fun Day. The Maple Tree will be taking part, so please do come and meet us. Thursday 25th July – Family Learning Event at , for families with children 0-10, 9.30-2.30. More details to follow Saturday 27th July – Bubble Workshop at The Maple Tree (10am-3pm) in conjunction with Oxford Museum of Natural History. This is primarily suitable for children aged 7+ and their families, but younger children are very welcome too. You can experiment with bubbles, watch a professional bubble artist and you will also receive a bubble kit to take home too. Families that attend will also be invited to the Museum of Natural History on 10th August to watch a special bubble show, meet scientists and show off some bubble experiments. Let us know if you are interested. See our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/500731153419935/ or to volunteer, hire the MT or just for more information contact [email protected]

18 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin Wheatley Library – 01865 875267

Dates to note: *New* Tuesdays at 16.00pm Digital development. Gain a better understanding of digital terminology, the internet and general computer usage. You will be logged onto a simple online course that you can work through at your own pace. Friday 12th July 16.30pm Library Quiz Friendly quiz with a book bias. Saturday 13th July *Children’s Summer Reading Challenge Launch* Space chase is the theme for this year. 4 visits to the library, 6 books to the read, crafts, characters, activities, prizes, and stickers! Come and join in the challenge. Saturday 13th July Jigsaw Swap Bring and take jigsaw puzzles. 500 pieces or bigger. Saturday 27th July Ex-library stock book sale 40p each or 3 for £1 Regular Friends of Wheatley Library events: On-going sale of donated books Monday morning craft sessions weekly from 10-12 Monday afternoon art sessions from 3-5 Monday evening craft sessions weekly from 7-9pm First Thursday of the month, Clarinet Players at 7.30pm Wheatley Reading Group The Wheatley reading group has a few spaces available for anyone looking to join a group. The books they read cover a broad range of genres from thrillers to classics to non-fiction to light reads. There is always something to enjoy in each book and something to discuss at the meetings. If you are interested, please leave you details with a member of library staff and the group leader will get in contact with you. Top Tip - Reference online Under the general reference section of our Reference online service you will find a link to “Oxford Reference online”. There is a large menu of topics here but “Names Studies” provides information about personal given names, surnames and world-wide place names.

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 19 Environmental News from Monument Park,

Businesses working together There is no question that our planet needs our help. Our environment is suffering and the effects of climate change are in the news every day. How we source our food and transport goods are bigger topics than ever. Living more sustainably is now a priority. At Jennings, we feel some useful, positive advice is needed to help our community ‘Be the Change’. We’re therefore inviting local businesses to come and join us on Thursday 26th September, to learn practical ways to help future proof your business in the face of climate change. There will be a number of guest speakers and exhibitors, so please save the date for ‘Jennings Presents: A Business Eco Day - Be the Change’. To express an interest in attending email [email protected]. More information will be available shortly on our website – www.jennings.co.uk/whats-on As part of our future proofing, we have now installed electric vehicle charging points. These are available weekdays on Monument Park between 6am and 7pm. Easy to use and located between Hampden House and The Picnic Hamper café – why not pop in for a coffee refuel while you wait? We look forward to bringing you further social and environmental updates in future. The Jennings Team Monument Park, Chalgrove, OX44 7RW | 01865 893200

John Howell MP writes...

In April I wrote about on some aspects of the working of Parliament. This was in response to questions about what MPs do. This month I will continue with this.

There are two debating chambers in the House of Commons – the Chamber, which is seen as the main debating chamber on TV, and Westminster Hall. Much of the Government business takes place in the Chamber where statements, questions, and debates take place. Where there are differences on opinions among MPs there may be a vote at the end of a debate. In Westminster Hall MPs can call for debates on any issues of concern or interest. It is a chamber for effective cross party working and robust debate. There are no votes on debates in Westminster Hall but a Minister will be present and will respond on behalf of the Government at the end of the debate.

20 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin From time to time images do the rounds on social media suggesting that the Chamber of the House of Commons is packed full when issues that directly affect MPs are debated but empty when other issues are debated. You may not be surprised to learn that this is a complete mis-representation. Debates in the Chamber can continue for several hours and there will inevitably be times when MPs have to go to other meetings. In any debate the Chamber is usually most full at the beginning for the opening speeches and then again towards the end when the Minister sums up. If a vote is anticipated the Chamber may fill as MPs have to be in the lobbies before the doors are locked for voting. So, in a debate if photos are taken at the beginning or at the end there will be a full chamber, in the intervening hours it may well look quite empty. This does not have any bearing on the subject matter, but simply reflects the competing demands on MPs time which I mentioned in my article in April.

When voting MPs register their vote for or against the question by physically going into a lobby to one side or the other of the debating chamber. When a vote is called a bell will ring across the Parliamentary estate and MPs who are in other meetings then have 8 minutes to get to the division lobbies. The process takes about 15 minutes. It is quite a dated process but the time in the lobbies is actually quite valuable time as it provides an excellent opportunity for MPs to speak to colleagues or lobby Ministers on issues.

I often have constituents ask me to attend a specific debate on an issue that is particularly important to them. If I can do so I will, but as I hope you will appreciate from these articles, it is not always possible. However even if I cannot attend a debate I can still support issues by writing to Ministers or taking other action as appropriate to the particular topic.

If you have an issue of concern relating to Parliament please do get in touch. You can email me at [email protected] or write to me at the House of Commons (House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA) or my constituency office (PO Box 84, Watlington, OX49 5XD).

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 21 22 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 23 JOB OPPORTUNITY LITTLE MILTON SHOP AND POST OFFICE Required part-time Post Office counter and shop assistant From the month of August 2019

Four hours per day with the occasional Saturday morning No previous experience required, full training given

For further information contact Alison Shelton on 01844 279978 Or Kevin Hunt on 07880 626299

Alternatively call into Little Milton Shop and Post Office, Thame Road Little Milton OX44 7PZ

Great Milton Website Have you seen the website? http://www.great-milton.co.uk/

It is important to keep it up to date so please could you advise Carina Martin of any updates that need to be made ([email protected])

24 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin Janet Smith – 01844 278415

EVENTS AT THE PINE LODGE, LITTLE MILTON Village Hall AGM Tuesday 11th June 7:30pm Come and learn about your community The Community Room hall and contribute your ideas home of Volunteer your time – Join the Committee Great Milton History Free drinks & nibbles Browse the Archive Craft Club Every 3rd Wednesday of the month Purchase Books 19th June & 17th July 7:30pm Study Old Maps All crafts and crafters welcome Contribute to the collection LMWI Party of village Family History Thursday 13th June 7:30pm Celebrate 100 years of Oxfordshire WI Open on Wednesdays Music by local folk band, 3-Pressed Men 11:30am – 1:00pm Buffet – Bring a bottle – Visitors £5 or by arrangement Details at www.littlemiltonvillagehall.org.uk http://www.great-milton.co.uk/ Like us at great-milton-history/ www.facebook.com/lmpinelodge

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 25 The Three Villages BULLETIN Car Service ADVERTISING 1/4 page (w62mm x h90mm) The Three Villages Car service £5 or £50 per year 1/2 page (w128mm x h90mm) exists to help people who are having £10 or £100 per year difficulty in getting to their doctors’ Full page (w128mm x h185mm) appointments. £20 or £200 per year Full back page colour If you have to get to your GP £35 or £350 per year surgery or Thame Hospital for an Adverts for community or fund-raising appointment and need help getting events can have quarter page free. there, give us a call and we will help Larger sizes are charged at half the normal rate. if we can. Please contact Tim Darch Midsummer Cottage, Church Road, Jane Jefferis – 01844 278743 or Great Milton, Oxford OX44 7PA Wendy Richardson – 01844 278479. Tel: 01844 278347 Email: [email protected]

26 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 27 A D OUSLEY Domestic & Commercial ELECTRICIAN All types of electrical installation work including test and inspection and certification Tel: Adam on 01844 339793 or 01865 875031 (after 6pm) Email: [email protected] Registered member of the Electrical Contractors Association

28 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 29 Wheatley Dental Practice 01865 873314

We are currently accepting new patients at our friendly local dental surgery. Please phone our receptionists or call in for more details! Tooth whitening and facial aesthetic treatments available.

Catherine Peers BDS, Alison Chapman BDS MFDS RCS Claudia Conde MClinDent(Prostho.)London Rachel Hyde RDH, Jane Smale RDH, Candy Owens RDH

96 Church Road, Wheatley, OX33 1LZ [email protected]

30 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 31 ASHURST ARCHIVES

STORAGE

• Archive and Documents • General Household • Car • Boat • Caravan • Business • Short or long term

HOLLANDS FARM GREAT MILTON Friday 9:30 to 11.30 [email protected] 07768 408389 Hayley on 01844 279016

32 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin July at Waterperry Birds, Beasts and Flowers 22 June - 28 July The Art in Action Gallery’s Summer exhibition featuring work by Richard Ballantyne, Carol Read and Anja Percival. Orienteering Family Fun Trail 6 July to 2 September Stomp, slither, hop and prowl into a magical adventure at Waterperry Gardens this summer and be a wild explorer!! £3.50 per child with a free compass and prize (children must be accompanied by an adult for whom the garden entrance fee applies). The HandleBards: The Tempest Sat 6 July 5pm-8pm Join the all-female troupe for a bicycle-powered production of Shakespeare’s ’The Tempest’ like no other. Celebrating Ceramics 19 to 21 July A new festival showcasing over 100 diverse ceramic artists. Waterperry Opera Festival 25 to 28 July A unique opera festival with innovative, immersive productions and engaging participatory events.

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 33 34 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin Diary Monday Vinyasa Flow Yoga – The Pavilion. 9:15am contact Hayley Bamford – 07825 794662. yogalizard.co.uk Fitness & Yoga – The Neighbours Hall. 7:30pm – 8:45pm contact Yvonne Cartwright – 01844 279205 Tuesday Athletics Club. Year 8+. 6:00–7:30pm. Sports & Athletics Ground. [email protected] Vinyasa Flow Yoga – The Pavilion. 7:30pm contact Hayley Bamford – 07825 794662. yogalizard.co.uk Bingo – Neighbours Hall. 7:45pm contact Ann Price – 01844 279474 Wednesday GM History Archive, The Community Room, The Bull. 11:30am – 1:00pm or by appointment Fitness & Yoga – The Neighbours Hall. 6:00pm – 7:15pm Thursday Kids Yoga (4–12) – The Pavilion. 3:30pm contact Hayley Bamford – 07825 794662. yogalizard.co.uk The Neighbours Club. Alternate Thursdays. contact Janet Earl – 01844 279432 Sandy Lane Farm Market. 2:00pm – 6:30pm. contact Sandy Lane Farm – 01844 279269 www.sandylanefarm.net Athletics Club. Year 4–7. 6:00–7:30pm. Horspath Sports & Athletics Ground. [email protected] Badminton – Great Milton School Hall. 7:00pm – 10:00pm contact Daphne Holland – 01844 214198 Bellringers – St. Mary’s Church Tower. 7:30pm – 9:00pm contact Pat Cox – 01844 279300. www.gm-bellringers.freeuk.com Friday Toddler & Baby Group – The Neighbours Hall. 9:30am – 11:30am For more information contact Olivia – [email protected] Saturday Old Field: 2nd Saturday of each month. 10:15am – 12:00pm. Contact Alex Kirkman – 01844 278090 Bingo – Neighbours Hall. 7:45pm contact David Spiers – 01844 218345 July 6th Sat Summer of Love – Big Summer Bash at Views Farm 7:30pm 10th Wed Neighbours Club Outing: River Trip to Windsor, shopping and tea — 15th Mon Parish Council Meeting at The Pavilion 7:30pm 20th Sat Old Field Open Day and BBQ 12:00pm

All copy (except adverts) to [email protected] by 20th July 2019. Sheppard Cottage, Lychgate Lane, Great Milton, Oxford OX44 7PB. Adverts to Tim Darch Midsummer Cottage, Church Road, Great Milton, Oxford OX44 7PA. 01844 278347 • [email protected] The views expressed in this bulletin are not necessarily those of the Editor nor of the Parish Council. The Editor reserves the right not to print items submitted for publication, and to edit those which are published.

The Great Milton Bulletin www.great-milton.co.uk 35 36 www.great-milton.co.uk The Great Milton Bulletin